newbie confused with lack of difference in sound from hd595's and apple headphones

[plainsong]

I'm no fan of the hd595 by any means, but let them play for what, 200, 300 hours before deciding on the sound. Also avoid quick testing from one to the other (called A-B'ing) for now at least. Once they've burned in or are close enough for jazz (I can usually tell if I'll like a headphone or not, even if it has that new headphone harshness, but that's hopeful listening), then use them for a while exclusively.

Then try going back to the ibuds or whatever it was you were using before. Now there should be a difference.

That said, the ability of a source to drive a headphone has little to do with volume and more to do with everything else. That's tough to describe unless you compare the two, but one can be headache-inducing and the other not. You can give a pig diamond earrings, and it will still look like a pig wearing diamond earrings. Get it?

Or send them back and get some A900's or something. I would.

edit - Miss Piggy excluded of course.

screen cap from her latest charity work on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. The world needs more Muppets!

 

[Azure]

1. The biggest difference is usually noticed from going from your upgraded product to your older product. Differences aren't as obvious the other way around.

2. Source material should be fine. Despite what people say, listening to 128kbps mp3s won't cause the situation you're in (That you can't tell much of a difference, if at all, between your new high end cans and your older ones; your new headphones should actually be more revealing, so you should still be able to note lots of differences with these lower quality files).

3. It can take some time to get a trained ear to be able to note differences. It really shouldn't make much of a difference in being able to notice a reasonable SQ difference or not, but it's still a factor. Also consider that it might just be the headphones. I didn't find much of a difference between my stock headphones that came with my CDP and my A500s. I tried some SR80s and the sound was still similar. It wasn't until I heard the Sony MDR-SAx000 series and the SR-404 that I was able to realize the SQ differences. My first eargasm was actually with my 3rd "real" pair of headphones, the SA1000s (I didn't get anything close to an eargasm with the A500s or the SR80s).

The above is IMO, based on my findings, blah blah blah.

 

[MaloS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice I loved my 595's at first..Even found them better then my 650's, but when I kept upgrading my source & amp, The 650's were getting better & better..Same with the Sony SA5000.. To a point I couldn't stand listening to the 595's..Too shallow..It's like dropping a nickel in a puddle (595) compared to a pond (650, SA5000) The 595's are all upfront, superficial & shallow, once you get past the front Row sound..Reminds me of hot chicks with no personality..Once the physical attraction is gone it's over..

thats why i am looking to buy some stax now xD

hd595 seems to be the perfect headphone to burn your ears in though ^.^

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS thats why i am looking to buy some stax now xD they seem to be the perfect headphone to burn your ears in though ^.^

Yeah, I'd like a pair too..But I'm not spending over a grand on cans unless I demo them first.. & No way will I spend 1,700 on Headphones..Unless I had a VERY, VERY, nice job..

 

[plainsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure 2. Source material should be fine. Despite what people say, listening to 128kbps mp3s won't cause the situation you're in (That you can't tell much of a difference, if at all, between your new high end cans and your older ones; your new headphones should actually be more revealing, so you should still be able to note lots of differences with these lower quality files).

Kind of true for me, but the more detailed headphones should reveal that "hey, those pops and clicks and that metallic sound are actually in the mp3" and it should be clear what's causing that, it shouldn't really sound like a great mystery, even to someone who doesn't know one headphone from the other. I think I'm agreeing with you there.

But the harshness and thinness of the average sound card just is completely headache-inducing for me. I have to plug in something very rolled off and be at low volumes for short periods of time... like the AKG 240s will work for no more than 30 minutes.

I don't think this is my ears becoming whiney crybabies, as this has always been an issue. I've just always listened to my body and taken the cans off at that point. This shouldn't happen with a proper setup at proper volume levels, and there's more than one way to make a setup proper...meaning, meant to power the headphones your using and sound nice.

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice Yeah, I'd like a pair too..But I'm not spending over a grand on cans unless I demo them first.. & No way will I spend 1,700 on Headphones..Unless I had a VERY, VERY, nice job..

You don't need to spend over a grand for a STAX system. You can get the typical 404/313 system for ~$750. If that's too much, you could substitute in the 303 or the 202 and save a couple hundred dollars.

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice Yeah, I'd like a pair too..But I'm not spending over a grand on cans unless I demo them first.. & No way will I spend 1,700 on Headphones..Unless I had a VERY, VERY, nice job..

You don't have to buy top of the line. That's kind of like saying "I won't buy Sennheisers because I don't have $10K+ to spend on an Orpheus."

 

[MaloS]

aye, grab their uberbasic system for 200 dollars on audiocubes, its portable, its gorgeous, its definetly the best bang for the buck you could EVER get.